The WSTA chief has criticised a new report into minimum pricing which says the measure would be 50 times more effective than the below-cost selling ban, for "ignoring the reality" that alcohol consumption is already falling.

The WSTA chief has criticised a new report into minimum pricing which says the measure would be 50 times more effective than the below-cost selling ban, for "ignoring the reality" that alcohol consumption is already falling.

A report by the University of Sheffield, published in the British Medical Journal today, says the minimum pricing policy would have a 40 to 50 times greater effect, especially on harmful drinkers, than the ban on below cost selling of alcohol.

The WSTA believes the Sheffield study relies on a flawed modelWSTA CEO Miles Beale, says the new report from the University of Sheffield fails to consider that aclohol consumption is already falling significantly, without the introduction of such a measure.

But WSTA chief executive Miles Beale said: "Continued calls for minimum unit pricing ignore the reality that per-capita consumption has fallen 18% in the last 10 years - a far higher drop in real terms than was predicted under MUP.

"The UK already has some of the highest alcohol prices in Europe. Since 2008, the duty on wine has increased by 54% and for spirits by 44%. A minimum unit price of 45p would increase the price of 45% of all alcohol products sold in shops and supermarkets.

"Rather than punishing responsible drinkers through higher prices, the government is rightly working in partnership with the industry to continue the good progress being made in tackling alcohol-related harm such as delivering on the pledge to remove 1 billion units of alcohol from the market by 2015."

The Sheffield team estimated that below cost selling would increase the price of 0.7% of alcohol units sold in England, while a minimum price of 45p would increase the price of 23.2% of units sold.

WSTA CEO Miles Beale, says the new report from the University of Sheffield fails to consider that aclohol consumption is already falling significantly, without the introduction of such a measure.

The report states that below cost selling will reduce harmful drinkers' mean annual consumption by just 0.08%, around three units per year, compared with 3.7% or 137 units per year for a 45p minimum unit price (an approximately 45 times greater effect).

It says the below cost selling ban saves an estimated 14 deaths and 500 admissions to hospital per year compared to a 45p minimum unit price saving 624 deaths and 23,700 hospital admissions.

Professor Alan Brenann, Professor of health economics and decision modelling, from the School of Health and Related Research at the University of Sheffield, said: "Despite some study limitations we found that a minimum unit price of 45p would be expected to have 40-50 times larger reductions in consumption and health harms."

Meanwhile, plans to introduce minimum unit pricing in Scotland are on hold - having been referred to the European Court of Justice for a decision on whether or not it is legal.

The UK government has already consulted on minimum unit pricing and found a lack of evidence to support the measure in reducing alcohol-related harm without penalising responsible drinkers. It found that heavy drinkers are the least responsive to price increases, and unlikely to alter consumption because of higher prices.

The Sheffield study predicts that introducing a minimum price of 50p per unit would cut consumption by 6.9%. But it does not acknowledge that between 2006 and 2012 consumption fell by around 18%.

Think tank the Adam Smith Institute dismissed the modelling used by the University of Sheffield around minimum pricing as "entirely speculative".